Ocean Song Beneath the Waves
*UPDATED* Chapter 13: Cascata

So I’m getting a lot of interested people adding my story to their lists, so I’ll post a bonus chapter as a reward each time it happens. So here you go and enjoy!

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Serena fixes Calder with a look of confusion. What the hell is an “Ocean’s Curse”?

“What the hell is that?” Rodion asks bluntly and Serena just wants to smack in the head. How is it that the man can say aloud what she’s thinking when she doesn’t want him to, but any other time he stays silent?

“The Sea Goddess was hardly pleased with the behavior of the sirens but she was most displeased with Proteus, who had been leading a rebellion against the humans.

“Many humans were killed and none spared. Women, children and the elderly were all killed in the most brutal of ways.” The book’s image changes to that of a single merman with glowing red eyes and a black trident with a sinister appearance surrounded by the mangled bodies of his victims.

“To save the humans, the Sea Goddess invoked a forbidden curse.” Calder’s gaze darkens as a human silhouette takes the place of the merman. “Those who heard the song would henceforth become mer upon drowning.”

Serena interrupts. “Why must they drown first? Couldn’t they have become a mer simply by entering the water?”

Calder shakes his head. The human silhouette engages in the act of drowning before it transforms.

“Think of it as one life coming to an end which would give rise to a new one.”

“So we basically died then?” Rodion shouts—his arm caught in Serena’s grasp to prevent him from acting on his anger.

Calder, however, isn’t the least bit fazed. “In a sense, yes,” he replies casually.

Serena’s blood runs cold as she goes rigid. “So, there’s no going back then?”

Calder sighs. “I never said that. There may be a way, but I have yet to replace it.” He emits a brief yawn before looking up at the two from the pages of the book. “May I continue the story now?”

Upon their nods, he continues, “Proteus quickly discovered that these merpeople harbored special innate abilities. As a result, he enslaved them all the moment he came into contact with them through his song. He absorbed their power and allowed his accursed beasts to devour them whole.”

Serena involuntarily grabs ahold of her arms. The vision hovering over the book changes to a terrifying scene of merpeople being devoured by a monstrous beast shrouded in darkness. White spaces make up their eyes—wide as saucers—and mouths that are agape with frozen horror.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she can even hear their agonizing screams as though they’re actually there with her being ripped to pieces.

Yet, Rodion doesn’t seem nearly as bothered by this as he seems to be about something else. He yells, “So we’ve been brought down here as a pair of batteries that are made into fish food when we’re drained?”

The scene before them disperses and the book snaps shut. The glow it emitted fades until it is just an ordinary book once more.

“Calm down. That cannot be possible because King Poseidon and Queen Amphitrite sealed him away at the conclusion of the War of Gems about six million years or so ago,” Calder says lightly waving a dismissive hand.

“However, if he has broken free of his prison…” Calder launches into a series of ramblings with muttered theories and whispered possibilities. After a minute or so, he abruptly ceases his mutterings.

“In any event we should go and see my sister, Cascata. She would know more than I given that she is the one who was tasked with watching over Proteus’s prison.”

“Alright, so when do we leave?” Serena asks curiously, now recovered from her earlier instances of fear.

Calder grins. “Right now,” he replies brightly. Calder swipes his hand across the space in front of him and the three are quickly enveloped in a mint green light.

“Gah!” Rodion cries out, finally regaining some concept of reality.

Serena’s form is reminiscent of a drenched cat with an expression frozen in shock.

“Next time you drag us through—through whatever the hell that was, give us some damn warning!” Rodion shouts, taking a moment to allow his vision to reorient itself.

Calder only chuckles. “Humans are simply adorable!”

Serena shakes her head, turning her gaze to study her new surroundings. It seems to be some sort of cavern, much like Calder’s but more exotic.

Colors of every kind can be found somewhere in the room in the form of books or potions. Various scrolls are scattered about—some open, some not. The décor of the chamber mainly consists of lavenders, sea greens, and silver against a dark wall or floor that is far beneath them.

“Calder, where is this place?”

“This, my dear Serena, is the home of my darling older sister, Cascata,” Calder says with a smile whilst he bats Rodion’s hand away from a bottle of a green substance.

“Please refrain from touching anything. Some of these are quite hard to come by,” states a sultry voice clearly belonging to a woman.

Serena’s the first to turn her gaze to the origin as a mermaid appears from a sudden cloud of shining violet particles. Her hair is of a dark shade like Calder’s with a similar tail—the only difference being that hers’ is dark purple.

Her catlike green eyes gaze upon Serena and Rodion with interest. She draws nearer.

Calder smiles softly and gestures to the mermaid. “Rodion, Serena, meet my sister, Cascata.”

“A pleasure to meet you both. I have been eagerly awaiting your presence...” Cascata trails off and turns to Calder with a soft smile upon her dark-painted lips. “Ah how good it is to see you again my dear Brother! How long has it been? A century perhaps?” she asks with an air of nonchalance. Her smile widens to the point where Serena’s able to see a set of fangs glistening within her mouth.

But Calder seems to choose to skip the pleasantries. “As much as I would love to catch up with you, I am afraid we have business we must needs attend to first, Sister.”

“Indeed, I am well aware. These two should not be here and yet here they are,” she replies sagely—taking in the appearance of the two humans. “You come seeking information regarding Proteus, do you not?” Though she hardly needs an answer—Serena’s certain of that for the woman begins moving without warning. Seeming to know exactly what it is she needs to do.

“What of him? Does he still remain imprisoned?”

Cascata grits her teeth and turns her gaze to a pedestal with a wide bowl sitting atop it much like a bird fountain. “I am ashamed to say that he has managed to break free of his prison with outside help...” Her gaze turns fierce upon looking back towards them.

A grim scowl has overtaken Calder’s features.

Cascata continues, “He means to wreak havoc and bring chaos to both worlds.”

Calder releases a troubled sigh, lightly tugging at the hair hanging in front of his face. “So Proteus is free then. If that be the case then no one is safe and we are all doomed...”

“So how does this tell us where Rodion went?” Zale asks tersely—gaze focused on a bundle of soaked clothing atop the coffee table.

Caspian glares at the clothes—dropping them on the cherrywood table with an audible splat. The same thing has happened again. Everything similar except for where the clothes were discovered. He had been the first to discover Rodion’s absence after he failed to come home even once for three days in a row. A sound cause for concern if ever he’s known one.

But rather than continue to dwell on his thoughts, Caspian makes them known. “I found them washed up on the shore this morning when I went to the beach and that was the last place he could’ve been.”

Arion stares at the clothes in silence. He hasn’t said much of anything since Caspian had returned from the beach.

“Okay so maybe he decided to change his clothes or something,” Zale comments flatly. Clearly, he’s not as concerned as the other two are.

“Not likely. Rodion didn’t have any clothes when he left the house, nor did he have the money to buy more and I doubt he would borrow someone else’s used clothes,” Caspian states dryly. “And what the hell were they doing floating around in the ocean?”

Zale gives a shrug, seeming to not give a damn either way. He scratches his ridiculous bedhead alongside the fifth yawn in the last ten minutes.

“Is that his phone?” Arion asks, curious eyes following Caspian’s hand.

Said object is placed on top of the pile—soaked and useless.

“But maybe I should’ve said ‘was’.” Arion grimaces when he picks up the phone and shakes out a few droplets of water.

Zale gives an exasperated sigh. “Got anything else because this is going nowhere fast.” He flops back onto the couch in utter boredom.

Caspian has to resist the urge to strangle him. How can he behave so carelessly in a time such as this?

“We should return to where it all began.”

Zale and Arion stare at Caspian with strange looks for but a moment before things seem to click.

Zale is the first to move. He trudges towards the bathroom for a shower—a series of grumbled mutterings to follow him until the door shuts behind him.

Arion quickly dashes back to his room to change into a fresh set of clothes.

At least, Caspian hopes they’re fresh. He can’t recall the last time either one of them made an effort to do basic chores. Except Zale, of course, since he’s always out partying.

A week-old pile of dishes in the dishwasher is testament to the former statement.

Caspian glances at the clothes on the table then proceeds to his room to change his own clothes. He’s been wearing the same thing for a week. It’s high time for something cleaner. And maybe a shower too.

Caspian squints his eyes against the blinding light of the sun on the sea’s horizon.

“There’s nothing here!” Zale shouts, an irate expression drawn across his features. But then, it doesn’t take much to irritate him nowadays.

True enough, though, there is nothing to be found on the beach. They searched the cliffs, the cave at the other end, and the entirety of the beach itself. Yet no clues could be found, and Rodion’s drenched clothes and destroyed cellphone provided little revelation.

Caspian slides a hand down his face after catching a glimpse of Zale’s crossed arms. His gaze flickers over to Arion, who shuffles in the sand with antsy movements.

This isn’t working. At this rate they’ll be lucky to replace even a lock of their sibling’s hair.

“You guys lookin for something?” They all simultaneously turn their attention to the lifeguard walking up to them.

Caspian had briefly noticed him earlier. The guy seemed on edge and jumped at the slightest shift of sand. His eyes dart about skittishly and he looks about ready to bolt at any second.

What idiot hires a person like this to be a lifeguard? A dry look flashes across Caspian’s features. A thought that seems to be shared amongst his brothers. But no one makes any move to voice the comment.

So, Caspian goes for the blunt approach. “We’re looking for our brother.”

The lifeguard chuckles humorlessly. “Why am I not surprised? First it was your sister and now your brother.” Of course, it isn’t any shock to anyone that their sister is missing. They did put her in the news after all. Anything to get her home safely, at least that had been the plan. But the police haven’t made any efforts to investigate and the matter has mostly gone forgotten like old news.

The mere thought causes a bitter ache to strike at Caspian’s heart—a brief flash of a young girl’s smile overtaking his mind for a single lapse in time.

Zale gives a huff. “Well, did you see something?”

“I thought someone would never ask,” cries the lifeguard in relief.

They all stand alert, Caspian staring intently at the man’s face. He doesn’t even bother to question why this idiot hadn’t gone to the police instead of keeping his damn mouth shut.

“I saw a guy with silver hair yesterday standing up on that cliff up there. He looked to be staring at something but before I could get up there and warn him some dude in a black robe came and pushed him off the edge!”

There’s an eerie pause that’s quickly broken by Arion’s infuriated shout. “You didn’t think to go save him? That’s your job right?” Arion takes a threatening step forward, causing the lifeguard to take a reflexive step back.

“I-I don’t know! Weird shit’s happening man! The creepy dude on the cliff disappeared and-and the other guy never came back up for air!” The lifeguard’s face starts to turn red as though he’s getting ready to have a panic attack. “I don’t want to get mixed up in the shit that goes on around here! I don’t want to disappear like the others!” And with that, he finally bolts. Running as though the flames of hell are at his heels.

Zale shouts with an angry growl in his tone, “Hey, get your scary ass back here!”

But the lifeguard doesn’t stop for nothing. He makes it all the way to the lifeguard station where he seems to lock himself in.

Caspian releases a tired sigh. There’s too much stuff going on to make any sense of what’s happening. And that stupid guard wasn’t of much help.

“What the hell did he mean by ‘disappear like the others’?” Arion’s eyes meet Caspian–a thoughtful look on both their faces.

“And how do you think this ‘robed figure’ ties in with all of this? They have to have something to do with what that guy was talking about given how they’re responsible for the disappearance of Rodion,” Zale asks dryly. He takes a moment to stretch his limbs which causes his other brothers to cringe when they hear audible popping noises from the joints.

“They might be responsible for the disappearance of Serena and dad too,” Caspian concludes, turning towards the ocean with a furrowed brow. “Just what the hell’s going on here?”